The title says it all. These posts are uncategorized posts. Sometimes I just have to write random things that are not attached to anything else I write about. These are few and far apart, but they do happen.
I was on the ball with last month’s video update. I had it published before the month actually ended and was happy with how it came out. I then forgot to publish the post on this site. I guess we can’t win everything. Thankfully it is only a few days late.
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If you would like to keep more up to date I do post often on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also read about my life in my series God Shows Up or in the category “Life.” If you’d like weekly updates check out my Patreon page. I do weekly updates for all my tiers and they start at $1/month.
This year I attempted NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month. It is when a bunch of writers attempt to write a full first draft of a novel in November. I had been working on the background work and outline for a new project. The project will actually be a series of short books, so I figured it would be a good way to start. The project is Royal Memories.
During the month I wrote a lot and learned some stuff. I didn’t finish the 50,000-word goal, but I got halfway. My final count was 25,451 words. I am not halfway through the story, though. I know that I have a lot of editing and writing still ahead of me. It is a great start, though. I didn’t write every day. In fact, I wrote about every other day because of my schedule.
There was a bit where I didn’t even write every other day. That was because of overdoing it the first week. I then got in a rhythm of writing and painting that worked for me. November was a wonderful month for me.
One Thing I learned
Doing NaNoWriMo also showed me that at least one lesson I keep hearing holds true. I heard a few authors say to read and review what you wrote the day before at the beginning of your session. I didn’t do that for most of the month and now I’m lost. The story seems to be dying. There is a fix though, I can go back to what I already wrote. As I’m reading it, I can edit it and build on what I have. I have done that a couple of times now and when I do I have added a bunch more words.
Right now the Royal Memories series is just a bunch of bones and bone fragments on a table. By going back and reviewing, I can find more bone fragments in the mess and make them into actual bones. My next few drafts can focus on putting the meat and skin on the bones.
I am glad that I attempted to write an entire book in a month. I found that I could do more than I thought I would be able to and may even get the first book in this series done before I was expecting.
Pictures from the Month.
I used dice to decide on a few things and make the story more interesting. Most of the time it caused the characters to have difficulties with what they were attempting to do. I also had a few fight scenes, which the dice made more interesting. Using the dice also me write quicker, because if I got stuck I was able to roll a die to get unstuck.
When I got to 10,000 words I wrote an Instagram post. I was proud of myself to reach one of the first big milestones. I was planning on taking other pictures at 20,000 and 25,000 words, but that didn’t happen.
Want More?
If you would like to keep more up to date with what I am doing I am on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also read about my life in my series God Shows Up or in the category “Life.”
One, Two, Three, Four
Where is the open door?
Is there an opportunity for me?
Am I walking closer to you?
Are all the right things done?
Four, Three, Two, One
The race will be won.
As I draw close to you my spirit flew
each opportunity will set me free
to follow the one I adore.
The creative life can be hard and lonely. You will get stuck on ideas and take criticism for your work. This life will be hard, which is why having friends that are creative and a creative community is so important. They’ll be able to lift you up or get you unstuck. They’ll show you you’re not in it alone. There are other artists and creatives in the world going through similar stuff in their lives.
Yes, you will work alone if you are a painter, writer, or sculptor. You must practice alone if you are a musician or actor. There will be alone time while you create. Your creative friends will show you that others are doing the same thing. Everyone will get stuck or come up against an unfamiliar obstacle. That is part of growing and improving. All artists and creatives will have to deal with criticism for their work. Also, every creative person can improve with the help of others.
It may take time to cultivate a friendship that focuses on mutual creative trust and a feedback cycle. It is worth the work. You can find these opportunities in already established groups or events. There may take time and work to find the right fit, but you’ll be able to grow in your creativity when you do.
You will learn a lot from others and they will learn from you. You will improve your art with their help and they’ll improve with your help. These types of relationships should be beneficial to all parties.
It is important to set goals for yourself and your creative life. I find the more often I write my goals down, the more focused I become in achieving them. Once you have your goals set, you must also assess your progress.
It will not be very helpful to you if you only write the same goals repeatedly and not assess your progress. Perhaps you’re setting goals that you’re not achieving. If you do that, it will add undue stress and pressure on you. Maybe it’s too easy for you to meet your goals. If your goals are too easy than your not challenging your self or improving. If you don’t assess them, you may not progress at the correct speed for you.
Goal setting is a balance and a dance. Some weeks or months you may achieve more than you thought, while other months you may not achieve that much. This is just the way of life. You shouldn’t expect success to be a straight line or even expect you will meet all your goals on the first try. The key is to not beat yourself up on the slow goal for months and accept that you can learn from failures too. This is a lesson I remind myself of often.
The best way I’ve found to use goals is as a marker on your journey. This is easier said than done, at least for me. When I set goals, I want to achieve them with flying marks, but sometimes life gets in the way. Other times I set my goals too high. There are times I meet my goals or surpass them, but often those times are few and far apart. The goal with goals is to see the progress over time and to keep you focus on the main path you’re on. You may have to adjust your goals while you are assessing your progress. If you do it for a long enough amount of time, you’ll see that your progress can motivate you further down your path. I know it has pushed me along my path.
